UK Construction Industry: is everyone benefiting from it?
A staggering 2.1million people make up the UK construction industry, one of the strongest in the world, employed by 250000 firms, so you would assume that with such a large number of employees, and trainees that this is a good sector to work in. However every job has its drawbacks.
The large main contractors continue to put specialists under financial pressure with one in 10 claiming to have been excluded from approved lists according to a nationwide survey of its members by the CCS, the Confederation of Construction Specialists.
CCS members who between them account for an annual turnover of nearly £3 billion say they now have to provide more information to main contractors than ever before or lose valuable contracts.
More than 30% of those surveyed also claimed they have now been asked to pay for the advantage of dealing with main contractors in the future by buying into accreditation schemes. But even more worrying for specialists is that over 10% have already been excluded from such lists for non-compliance.
CCS spokesmen Richard Noble commented: "We hold regular surveys as part of an on-going exchange of information with members. This way we can represent them more efficiently. On this occasion we decided to include additional questions relating to main contractors and we were surprised and disappointed by some of the responses."
"Talks over the years of a working partnership with specialists to improve efficiency and reduce costs continue to be ignored by all but a few main contractors. Little progress seems to have been made in spite of pleas by Egen, Latham and many others"
"We can prove that when our members can work in such a way, that the benefits are enormous with projects delivered on time and in budget but the trends from our survey are not good. It seems that more and more main contractors want to tighten their grip on the specialists and this cannot bode well for the construction industry."
CCS members were surveyed in May as part of the Confederation's policy to provide a stronger voice within the construction industry for specialists who provide the backbone of the nation's building business.
Such is the financial grip on specialists that 85% of those surveyed claimed that they have to show all accounts to main contractors on a regular basis and worryingly only 6% claim to have been paid directly from a project bank account. Such accounts should be set up at all times to ensure prompt payments to specialists.
A closer look at the survey also reveals that such is the power and expertise of specialists that 87% produce their own designs and detailed layouts, a crucial part of the construction operation.
The survey further reveals that CCS members continue to lead the way in health and safety, the environment, sustainability and quality.
As a result of this survey the CCS, who offer BTEC Construction courses for specialists, now intend to expand its exchange of information with members to establish more clearly the problems and challenges they face in a modern construction market.
The large main contractors continue to put specialists under financial pressure with one in 10 claiming to have been excluded from approved lists according to a nationwide survey of its members by the CCS, the Confederation of Construction Specialists.
CCS members who between them account for an annual turnover of nearly £3 billion say they now have to provide more information to main contractors than ever before or lose valuable contracts.
More than 30% of those surveyed also claimed they have now been asked to pay for the advantage of dealing with main contractors in the future by buying into accreditation schemes. But even more worrying for specialists is that over 10% have already been excluded from such lists for non-compliance.
CCS spokesmen Richard Noble commented: "We hold regular surveys as part of an on-going exchange of information with members. This way we can represent them more efficiently. On this occasion we decided to include additional questions relating to main contractors and we were surprised and disappointed by some of the responses."
"Talks over the years of a working partnership with specialists to improve efficiency and reduce costs continue to be ignored by all but a few main contractors. Little progress seems to have been made in spite of pleas by Egen, Latham and many others"
"We can prove that when our members can work in such a way, that the benefits are enormous with projects delivered on time and in budget but the trends from our survey are not good. It seems that more and more main contractors want to tighten their grip on the specialists and this cannot bode well for the construction industry."
CCS members were surveyed in May as part of the Confederation's policy to provide a stronger voice within the construction industry for specialists who provide the backbone of the nation's building business.
Such is the financial grip on specialists that 85% of those surveyed claimed that they have to show all accounts to main contractors on a regular basis and worryingly only 6% claim to have been paid directly from a project bank account. Such accounts should be set up at all times to ensure prompt payments to specialists.
A closer look at the survey also reveals that such is the power and expertise of specialists that 87% produce their own designs and detailed layouts, a crucial part of the construction operation.
The survey further reveals that CCS members continue to lead the way in health and safety, the environment, sustainability and quality.
As a result of this survey the CCS, who offer BTEC Construction courses for specialists, now intend to expand its exchange of information with members to establish more clearly the problems and challenges they face in a modern construction market.
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